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United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government
Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia,
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate:
May 2012:
Disability Employment:
Further Action Needed to Oversee Efforts to Meet Federal Government
Hiring Goals:
GAO-12-568:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-12-568, a report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on
Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the
District of Columbia, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, U.S. Senate.
Why GAO Did This Study:
In July 2010, the president signed Executive Order 13548 committing
the federal government to become a model employer of individuals with
disabilities and assigned primary oversight responsibilities to OPM
and Labor. According to OPM, the federal government is not on track to
meet the goals of the executive order, which committed the federal
government to hire 100,000 workers with disabilities over the next 5
years. GAO was asked to examine the efforts that (1) OPM and Labor
have made in overseeing federal efforts to implement the executive
order; and (2) selected agencies have taken to implement the executive
order and to adopt leading practices for hiring and retaining
employees with disabilities. To conduct this work, GAO reviewed
relevant agency documents and interviewed appropriate agency
officials. GAO conducted case studies at Education, SSA, VA, and OMB.
What GAO Found:
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Department of Labor
(Labor) have taken steps to implement the executive order and help
agencies recruit, hire, and retain more employees with disabilities.
OPM provided guidance to help agencies develop disability hiring plans
and reviewed the 66 plans submitted. OPM identified deficiencies in
most of the plans. For example, though 40 of 66 agencies included a
process for increasing the use of a special hiring authority to
increase the hiring of people with disabilities, 59 agencies did not
meet all of OPM’s review criteria, and 32 agencies had not addressed
plan deficiencies as of April 2012. In response to executive order
reporting requirements, OPM officials said they had briefed the White
House on issues related to implementation, but they did not provide
information on deficiencies in all plans. While the order does not
specify what information these reports should include beyond
addressing progress, providing information on deficiencies would
enable the White House to hold agencies accountable. OPM is still
developing the mandatory training programs for officials on the
employment of individuals with disabilities, as required by the
executive order. Several elective training efforts exist to help
agencies hire and retain employees with disabilities, but agency
officials said that more information would help them better use
available tools. To track and measure progress towards meeting the
executive order’s goals, OPM relies on employees to voluntarily
disclose a disability. Yet, agency officials, including OPM’s, are
concerned about the quality of the data. For example, agency officials
noted that people may not disclose their disability due to concerns
about how the information may be used. Without quality data, agencies
may be challenged to effectively implement and assess the impact of
their disability hiring plans.
The Department of Education (Education), Social Security
Administration (SSA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) submitted disability hiring plans,
and have taken steps to implement leading practices for increasing
employment of individuals with disabilities, such as demonstrating top
leadership commitment. The executive order provided SSA, VA, and
Education an opportunity to further develop existing written plans.
However, officials at these agencies cited funding constraints as a
potential obstacle to hiring more employees with disabilities. In
terms of leading practices, all four agencies have communicated their
commitment to hiring and retaining individuals with disabilities and
coordinated within or across other agencies to improve their
recruitment and retention efforts. For example, each agency has a
single point of contact to help ensure that employees with
disabilities have access to information that is comparable to that
provided to those without disabilities, and for overseeing activities
related to hiring and retaining employees with disabilities. In
addition, VA holds senior managers accountable for meeting hiring
goals by including targets in their contracts. Each agency requires
training for managers and supervisors on procedures for hiring
individuals with disabilities, and VA further requires that all
employees receive training on the legal rights of individuals with
disabilities. Education, SSA, and VA rely on centralized funding
accounts to pay for reasonable accommodations.
What GAO Recommends:
GAO recommends that OPM: (1) incorporate information about plan
deficiencies into its required regular reporting to the president on
implementing the executive order and inform agencies about this
process; (2) expedite the development of the mandatory training
programs required by the executive order; and (3) assess the accuracy
of the data used to measure progress toward the executive order’s
goals and, if needed, explore options for improving its ability to
measure the population of federal employees with disabilities,
including strategies for encouraging employees to voluntarily disclose
disability status. OPM agreed with GAO’s recommendations.
View [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-568]. For more
information, contact Yvonne D. Jones at (202) 512-2717 or
JonesY@gao.gov; or Daniel Bertoni at (202) 512-7215 or
BertoniD@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Contents:
Letter:
Background:
OPM and Labor Have Taken Steps to Implement the Executive Order, but
Further Action Is Needed to Meet Hiring Goals:
Selected Agencies Have Plans in Place to Hire and Retain Employees
with Disabilities and Have Adopted Many Leading Practices:
Conclusions:
Recommendations for Executive Action:
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
Appendix I: Comments from the Office of Personnel Management:
Appendix II: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments:
Related GAO Products:
Tables:
Table 1: Key Responsibilities of OPM and Labor in Implementing the
2010 Executive Order:
Table 2: Assessment of Selected Agencies' Initial Plans:
Figure:
Figure 1: Percentage of Agency Plans That Met OPM's Criteria during
Initial Review:
Abbreviations:
CHCO: Chief Human Capital Officer:
EEOC: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission:
FECA: Federal Employees’ Compensation Act:
HR: Human Resources:
MAX: MAX Information Systems:
MD-715: Management Directive 715:
OMB: Office of Management and Budget:
OPM: Office of Personnel Management:
OWCP: Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs:
POWER: Protecting Our Workers and Ensuring Reemployment:
SF-256: Standard Form 256, Self-Disclosure of Disability:
SSA: Social Security Administration:
VA: Department of Veterans Affairs:
[End of section]
United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
May 25, 2012:
The Honorable Daniel K. Akaka:
Chairman:
Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal
Workforce, and the District of Columbia:
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs:
United States Senate:
Dear Mr. Chairman:
Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended
(Rehabilitation Act), requires federal agencies to develop affirmative
action program plans for hiring, placement, and advancement of people
with disabilities, as well as to ensure employment nondiscrimination
and reasonable accommodation.[Footnote 1] To encourage the federal
government to become a model employer of individuals with disabilities
through effective recruitment, hiring, and retention efforts,
Executive Order 13548 was issued in July 2010.[Footnote 2] This
executive order called for increasing the number of individuals with
disabilities in the federal government through the hiring of 100,000
individuals with disabilities over the next 5 years and through
greater efforts to retain federal workers with disabilities, including
ensuring the return to work of individuals injured on the job.
According to draft data from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM),
the government is not on track to meet the goals of the executive
order, having hired approximately 20,000 employees with disabilities
during fiscal years 2010 and 2011; however, as discussed later in this
report, we were unable to verify these data.
Because of concerns about the federal government's ability to meet the
goals set out by Executive Order 13548, you asked us to assess the
efforts that (1) OPM and the Department of Labor (Labor) have made in
overseeing the implementation of the executive order across the
federal government, and (2) selected agencies have taken to implement
the executive order and to adopt leading practices for hiring and
retaining employees with disabilities. To assess OPM and Labor's
oversight efforts, we examined relevant documents from OPM and Labor,
including OPM's guidance to federal agencies for implementing the
executive order, agency plans for hiring and employing people with
disabilities, and OPM's review of these plans. We also interviewed key
agency officials at OPM, Labor, and other agencies cited in the
executive order such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).[Footnote 3] We
also interviewed advocates for individuals with disabilities from the
American Association of People with Disabilities, the National Council
on Disabilities, and the National Disability Rights Network to obtain
their opinions on the executive order. To determine how selected
agencies are implementing the executive order and leading practices,
we focused our review on four federal agencies: (1) the Department of
Education (Education), (2) the Social Security Administration (SSA),
(3) the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and (4) OMB. We selected
this nongeneralizable sample among many agencies within the federal
government to provide a cross section for review. Education, SSA, and
VA have programs with missions and goals related to assisting people
with disabilities and OMB is specifically cited in the executive
order. We developed and administered a structured questionnaire, and
conducted follow-up interviews with agency officials. We also reviewed
agency specific disability hiring plans and other documents related to
hiring, reasonable accommodation policies, and strategic planning
efforts to better understand their experiences with hiring and
retaining employees with disabilities.
We conducted this performance audit from January 2011 to May 2012 in
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain
sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe
that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our
findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
Background:
Under the Rehabilitation Act, a person is considered to have a
disability if the individual has a physical or mental impairment that
substantially limits one or more major life activities.[Footnote 4]
Existing federal efforts are intended to promote the employment of
individuals with disabilities in the federal workforce and help
agencies carry out their responsibilities under the Rehabilitation
Act. For example, federal statutes and regulations provide special
hiring authorities for people with disabilities. These include
Schedule A excepted service hiring authority--which permits the
noncompetitive appointment of qualified individuals with intellectual,
severe physical, or psychiatric disabilities without posting and
publicizing the position[Footnote 5]--and appointments and
noncompetitive conversion for veterans who are 30 percent or more
disabled.[Footnote 6] To qualify for a Schedule A appointment, an
applicant must generally provide proof of disability and a
certification of job readiness.[Footnote 7] Proof of disability can
come from a number of sources, including a licensed medical
professional, or a state agency that issues or provides disability
benefits. The proof of disability document does not need to detail the
applicant's medical history or need for an accommodation.
Executive Order 13548 committed the federal government to many of the
goals of an executive order issued a decade earlier,[Footnote 8] but
went further by requiring federal agencies to take certain actions.
For example, Executive Order 13548 requires federal agencies to
develop plans for hiring and retaining employees with disabilities and
to designate a senior-level official to be accountable for meeting the
goals of the order and to develop and implement the agency's plan. In
addition, OPM and Labor have oversight responsibilities to ensure the
successful implementation of the executive order (see table 1).
Table 1: Key Responsibilities of OPM and Labor in Implementing the
2010 Executive Order:
Key Responsibilities:
Responsible agency: OPM[A];
Key responsibilities:
* Design model recruitment and hiring strategies for agencies;
* Develop mandatory training programs for human resource officials and
hiring managers;
* Identify strategies for retaining federal workers with disabilities;
* Assist agencies with the development and implementation of their
plans;
* Approve agency plans (the executive order provides that agency plans
are subject to OPM and OMB approval, as appropriate);
* Assist agencies in implementing strategies for retaining federal
workers with disabilities;
* Implement a system for reporting regularly to the president, heads
of agencies, and the public on agencies’ progress in implementing
their plans and the executive order’s objectives;
* Compile and post on its website government-wide statistics on the
hiring of persons with disabilities;
* Review the effectiveness of the definition of targeted disability in
the Standard Form 256.
Responsible agency: Labor[B];
Key responsibilities:
* Pursue innovative reemployment strategies and develop policies,
procedures, and structures that foster improved return-to-work
outcomes;
* Pursue overall reform of the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act
(FECA) system;
* Propose specific outcome measures and targets by which each agency’s
progress in carrying out return-to-work and FECA claims processing
efforts can be assessed.
Source: GAO analysis of the 2010 Executive Order.
[A] As noted in the executive order, OPM was directed to consult with
the Secretary of Labor, the Chair of EEOC and the Director of OMB in
meeting some of its responsibilities.
[B] As noted in the executive order, Labor was to consult with OPM on
some of its responsibilities. Source: GAO analysis of the 2010
Executive Order.
[End of table]
For the purposes of determining agency progress in the employment of
people with disabilities and setting targeted goals, the federal
government tracks the number of individuals with disabilities in the
workforce through OPM's Standard Form 256, Self-Disclosure of
Disability (SF-256). Federal employees voluntarily submit this form to
disclose that they have a disability, as defined by the Rehabilitation
Act. For reporting purposes, disabilities are separated into two major
categories: Targeted and Other Disabilities. Targeted disabilities,
generally considered to be more severe, include such conditions as
total deafness, complete paralysis, and psychiatric disabilities.
Other disabilities include such conditions as partial hearing or
vision loss, gastrointestinal disorders, and learning disabilities.
Further, Labor is given responsibilities in the executive order to
improve efforts to help employees who sustain work-related injuries
and illnesses return to work. In July 2010, the Protecting Our Workers
and Ensuring Reemployment (POWER) Initiative was established, led by
Labor.[Footnote 9] This initiative aims to improve agency return-to-
work outcomes by setting performance targets, collecting and analyzing
injury and illness data, and prioritizing safety and health management
programs that have proven effective in the past.
The executive order also requires Labor to pursue reform of the
Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) system. FECA provides
benefits to federal employees who sustain injuries or illnesses while
performing their federal duties.[Footnote 10] The FECA program covers
over 2.7 million civilian federal and postal employees in more than 70
agencies, providing wage-loss compensation and payments for medical
treatment. Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP)
reviews FECA claims and makes decisions on eligibility and payments.
[Footnote 11]
We have completed a number of reviews that have identified steps that
agencies could take to provide equal employment opportunity to
qualified individuals with disabilities in the federal workforce. In
July 2010, we held a forum that identified barriers to the federal
employment of people with disabilities and leading practices to
overcome these barriers.[Footnote 12] Participants said that the most
significant barrier keeping people with disabilities from the
workplace is attitudinal and identified eight leading practices that
agencies could implement to help the federal government become a model
employer:
1) top leadership commitment;
2) accountability, including goals to help guide and sustain efforts;
3) regular surveying of the workforce on disability issues;
4) better coordination within and across agencies;
5) training for staff at all levels to disseminate leading practices
throughout the agency;
6) career development opportunities inclusive of people with
disabilities;
7) a flexible work environment; and;
8) centralized funding at the agency level for reasonable
accommodations.
OPM and Labor Have Taken Steps to Implement the Executive Order, but
Further Action Is Needed to Meet Hiring Goals:
OPM Helped Agencies Develop Plans to Employ More Individuals with
Disabilities, Yet Many Plans Lacked Required Elements and Have Not
Been Corrected:
OPM, in consultation with EEOC, OMB, and Labor, issued a memorandum in
November 2010 to heads of executive departments and agencies outlining
the key requirements of the executive order and what elements must be
included in agency disability hiring plans. These elements include
listing the name of the senior-level official to be held accountable
for meeting the goals of the executive order and describing how the
agency will hire individuals with disabilities at all grade levels and
in various job occupations. The memorandum also described strategies
that agencies could take to become model employers of people with
disabilities, such as reviewing all recruitment materials to ensure
accessibility for people with disabilities. To help implement the
strategies, OPM contracted in December 2010 with a private firm to
recruit and to manage a list of Schedule A-certified individuals from
which federal agencies can hire.[Footnote 13]
OPM received 66 agency plans for promoting the employment of
individuals with disabilities, representing over 99 percent of the
federal civilian executive branch workforce.[Footnote 14] OPM
officials reviewed all the plans, recording whether they met criteria
developed by OPM based on the executive order and its model strategies
memorandum.[Footnote 15] OPM also identified and informed agencies
about innovative ideas included in plans.
In reviewing the plans, OPM found that many agency plans did not meet
one or more of its review criteria (see fig. 1). For example, OPM's
review found that 29 of the 66 agency plans did not include numerical
goals for the hiring of people with disabilities. OPM also found that
9 of the 66 agency plans did not identify a senior-level official
responsible for the development and implementation of the plan.
Finally, only 7 of the 66 plans met all of the criteria; over half of
the plans met 8 or fewer of the 13 criteria. However, OPM expected
agencies to begin implementing their plans immediately, regardless of
any unaddressed deficiencies.
Figure 1: Percentage of Agency Plans That Met OPM's Criteria during
Initial Review:
[Refer to PDF for image: horizontal bar graph]
Identifies a senior executive who is accountable for
implementation: 86%.
Provides evidence of senior executive review: 52%.
Includes hiring goals: 50%.
Accounts for hiring people with disabilities at all grade levels: 55%.
Accounts for hiring people with disabilities in all job series: 52%.
Identifies the training necessary to advance and/or implement the
plan: 89%.
Includes a plan for providing and assessing the effectiveness of
manager and human resources training: 55%.
Includes a plan to increase return-to-work outcomes to make
accommodations available to employees who sustain serious workplace
injuries and illnesses[A]: 74%.
Includes a plan to coordinate with Labor's OWCP to make accommodations
available to employees who sustain serious workplace injuries or
illnesses: 62%.
Provides for quarterly monitoring of return-to-work successes under
the POWER Initiative: 44%.
Includes a plan for identifying injured employees, as defined under
FECA, who would benefit from accommodations and reassignment: 55%.
Includes a process for increasing the use of Schedule A as a means to
increase the hiring of people with disabilities/targeted
disabilities[A]: 61%.
Addresses the agency's reasonable accommodation policy and procedures
and whether they have been updated: 53%.
Source: OPM.
Note: n=66.
[End of figure]
Agencies met some criteria more successfully than others. For example,
OPM found that 40 of the 66 agency plans included a process for
increasing the use of Schedule A to increase the hiring of people with
disabilities. In contrast, 29 of the 66 agency plans provided for the
quarterly monitoring of the rate at which employees injured on the job
successfully return to work.
OPM provided agencies with written feedback on plan deficiencies and
strongly encouraged agencies to address them numerous times beginning
in June 2011. However, 32 out of the 59 agencies with deficiencies in
their plans had not addressed them as of April 2012. Specifically, in
June 2011, OPM provided agencies with access to reviews of their
plans, which identified deficiencies, through OMB's Max Information
System (MAX).[Footnote 16] According to OPM, in July 2011, a White
House official told agency senior executives that they were required
to address deficiencies in their plans. In October and November 2011,
OPM provided agencies with a list of the deficiencies identified in
their plans, and asked agencies to determine how their plans could be
improved. In December 2011, OPM again told agencies they were strongly
encouraged to review and address plan deficiencies and provided
agencies with several examples of plans that met all of the criteria.
Though the executive order does not specifically authorize OPM to
require agencies to address plan deficiencies, it calls for OPM to
regularly report on agencies' progress in implementing their plans to
the White House and others. In response to the executive order's
reporting requirement, OPM officials told us that they had briefed
White House officials on issues related to agencies' implementation of
the executive order, but did not provide information on the
deficiencies in all of the agency plans. In addition, OPM does not
think that the federal government is on target to achieve the goals
set in the executive order. While the executive order did not provide
additional detail as to what information should be reported, providing
information on the extent to which agencies' plans have met OPM's
criteria would better enable the White House to hold agencies
accountable for addressing plan deficiencies.
OPM Has Yet to Fully Develop the Required Mandatory Training Programs:
In addition to reviewing agency plans, the executive order required
OPM to develop mandatory training programs on the employment of people
with disabilities for both human resources personnel and hiring
managers, within 60 days of the executive order date. We have
previously reported that training at all staff levels, in particular
training on hiring, reasonable accommodations, and diversity
awareness, can help disseminate leading practices throughout an agency
and communicate expectations for implementation of policies and
procedures related to improving employment of people with
disabilities.[Footnote 17] Such policies and procedures could be
communicated across the federal government with training on topics
such as how to access and efficiently use the list of Schedule A-
certified individuals, the availability of internships and
fellowships, such as Labor's Workforce Recruitment Program, and online
communities of practice established to help officials share best
practices on hiring people with disabilities, such as eFedlink.
[Footnote 18]
In its November 2010 model strategies memorandum to heads of executive
agencies, OPM stated that, in consultation with Labor, EEOC, and OMB,
it was developing the mandatory training programs required by the
executive order and that further information would be forthcoming. OPM
officials told us in March 2012 that they are working with federal
Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCO) to develop modules on topics such
as using special hiring authority that will be available through HR
University.[Footnote 19] Officials explained that they need to ensure
that the training is uniform to ensure all personnel receive
consistent information, and they expect the training modules to be
ready by August 2012.
Although it has yet to fully develop mandatory training programs, OPM
has taken steps to train and inform federal officials about tools
available to them. For example, OPM partnered with Labor, EEOC, and
other agencies to provide elective training courses for federal
officials involved in implementing the executive order on topics
including: the executive order, model recruitment strategies, guidance
on developing disability hiring plans, and return-to-work
strategies.[Footnote 20] OPM also conducted training on implementation
of the executive order in July 2011 specifically for senior executives
accountable for their agencies' plans. It also offers short online
videos for hiring managers on topics such as Schedule A hiring
authority. Further, other governmentwide training on employing people
with disabilities exists. For example, Labor's Job Accommodation
Network offers online training on relevant issues like applying the
Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act and providing reasonable
accommodations. Moreover, the Department of Defense's Computer/
Electronic Accommodations Program offers online training modules to
help federal employees understand the benefits of hiring people with
disabilities.
Nevertheless, agency officials we interviewed told us that they would
like to have more comprehensive training on strategies for hiring and
retaining individuals with disabilities, confirming the need for OPM
to complete the development of the training programs required by the
executive order. For example, officials from one agency said that more
training on the relationship between return-to-work efforts and
providing reasonable accommodations is needed, while officials from
another agency identified a need for increased awareness of the
Schedule A hiring process.[Footnote 21]
OPM Tracks the Hiring of People with Disabilities, but Concerns about
Data Quality Exist:
Executive Order 13548 requires OPM to implement a system for reporting
regularly to the president, heads of agencies, and the public on
agencies' progress in implementing the objectives of the executive
order. OPM is also to compile, and post on its website, governmentwide
statistics on the hiring of individuals with disabilities. This is
important because effectively measuring workforce demographics
requires reliable data to inform decisions and to allow for individual
and agencywide accountability.
To measure and assess their progress towards achieving the goals of
the executive order, agencies and OPM use data about disability status
that employees voluntarily self-report on the SF-256.[Footnote 22]
OPM's guidance to agencies for implementing the executive order
explained that the data gathered from the SF-256 is crucial for
agencies to determine whether they are achieving their disability
hiring goals. Agencies also report these data to EEOC in an effort to
identify and develop strategies to eliminate potential barriers to
equal employment opportunities.[Footnote 23] According to the form,
the data are used to develop reports to bring to light agency specific
or governmentwide deficiencies in the hiring, placement, and
advancement of individuals with disabilities. The information is
confidential and cannot be used to affect an employee in any way. Only
staff who record the data in an agency's or OPM's personnel systems
have access to the information. According to draft data from OPM, as
stated earlier, the government hired approximately 20,000 employees
with disabilities during fiscal years 2010 and 2011.[Footnote 24]
However, according to officials at OPM, EEOC, VA, Education, and SSA,
accurately measuring the number of current and newly hired employees
with disabilities is an ongoing challenge. While the accuracy of the
SF-256 data is unknown, agency officials and advocates for people with
disabilities believe there is an undercount of employees with
disabilities. For example, despite the safeguards in place explaining
the confidentiality of the data, agency officials and advocates for
people with disabilities told us that some individuals with
disabilities may not disclose their disability status out of concern
that they will be subjected to discrimination. Similarly, EEOC
reported that some persons with disabilities are reluctant to self-
identify because they are concerned that such disclosure will preclude
them from advancement.[Footnote 25]
Additionally, some individuals may develop disabilities during federal
employment and may not know how to or why they should update their
disability status. We have reported that regularly encouraging
employees to update their disability status allows agencies to be
aware of any changes in their workforce. EEOC guidance recommends that
agencies request that employees update their disability status every 2
to 4 years.[Footnote 26]
During the course of our review, we heard about potentially useful
options for improving the accuracy of these data by attempting to
increase voluntary disclosure, as well as alternative sources of
information that may be used to augment the data provided on the SF-
256. For example, in its disability hiring plan, Labor described plans
to increase the accuracy of its workforce data by implementing a
marketing campaign to promote the voluntary disclosure of one's
disability status by having employees update their personnel profiles,
including disability status. Labor plans to assure employees of the
confidentiality of the information, and inform them that the
information collected on the SF-256 will only be used for statistical
purposes and to determine progress in achieving agency hiring and
retention goals. As a source of alternative data, officials at SSA
suggested examining the types of reasonable accommodations provided.
Likewise, OPM is exploring options for using other federal personnel
data, such as information on veterans with disabilities hired under a
special hiring authority, to supplement its SF-256 data in measuring
progress toward the executive order's goals.[Footnote 27] These data
could be used to better understand the makeup of an agency's workforce
and improve the agency's ability to establish appropriate policies and
goals, and assess progress towards those goals.
Labor Has Taken Steps to Develop Return-to-Work Strategies:
Labor has taken several steps toward meeting the requirements of the
executive order to improve return-to-work outcomes for employees
injured on the job, including pursuing overall reform of the FECA
system. Specifically, Labor developed new measures and targets to hold
federal agencies accountable for improving their return-to-work
outcomes within a 2-year period. Agencies were expected to improve
return-to-work outcomes by 1 percent for fiscal year 2011 and an
additional 2 percent in each of the following 3 years over the 2009
baseline. In fiscal year 2011, the federal government had a cumulative
return-to-work rate of 91.6 percent, almost 5 percent better than the
target rate of 86.7 percent. Goals such as these are useful tools to
help agencies improve performance. Labor is also researching
strategies that agencies can use to increase the successful return-to-
work of employees who have sustained disabilities as a result of
workplace injuries or illnesses.[Footnote 28] The results of this
study are expected to be released in September 2012.
Another Labor initiative is aimed at helping the federal government
rehire injured federal workers who are not able to return to the job
at which they were injured. OWCP initiated a 6-month pilot project in
May 2011 to explore how Schedule A noncompetitive hiring authority
might be used to rehire injured federal workers under FECA. As part of
the project, OWCP provided guidance to claims staff, rehabilitation
specialists, rehabilitation counselors, and employing agencies on the
process of Schedule A certification and the steps it will take to
facilitate Schedule A placements. According to Labor, the pilot
identified obstacles to reemployment and provided input needed to
determine whether such an effort can be expanded to other federal
agencies. Identified obstacles included unanticipated questions from
potential workers, such as if acceptance of a Schedule A designation
would require a "probationary" period, and what impact acceptance of a
Schedule A position would have on their retirement benefits. Of the 48
individuals Labor screened for Schedule A certification, 45 obtained
certification, of whom 5 have been placed into federal employment.
Selected Agencies Have Plans in Place to Hire and Retain Employees
with Disabilities and Have Adopted Many Leading Practices:
Agencies Are Implementing Plans to Improve Hiring and Retention of
Employees with Disabilities:
Each of the four agencies we reviewed submitted a plan for
implementing the executive order as required. Only VA's plan, as
initially submitted, met all of OPM's criteria for satisfying the
requirements of the executive order (see table 2). Education and SSA
revised their plans based on feedback from OPM. Specifically,
Education's revised plan states that Education will hire individuals
with disabilities in all occupations and across all job series and
grades. Education also clarified its commitment to coordinate with
Labor to improve return-to-work outcomes through the POWER Initiative,
and to engage and train managers on Schedule A hiring authority.
Further, Education increased its goals for the percentage of job
opportunity announcements that include information related to
individuals with disabilities. SSA revised its plan to include goals
and planned activities under the POWER Initiative, including quarterly
monitoring of return-to-work successes under the program and a
strategy for identifying injured employees who would benefit from
reasonable accommodations and reassignment. OMB submitted its plan in
March 2012 but, according to OMB officials, the agency has not
received feedback from OPM.
Table 2: Assessment of Selected Agencies' Initial Plans:
Criteria: Identifies a senior executive who is accountable for
implementation[D];
ED: [Check];
OMB[A]: [Check];
SSA: [Check];
VA: [Check].
Criteria: Provides evidence of senior executive review;
ED: [Check];
OMB[A]: [Empty];
SSA: [Check];
VA: [Check].
Criteria: Includes hiring goals[D];
ED: [Check];
OMB[A]: [Empty];
SSA: [Check];
VA: [Check].
Criteria: Accounts for hiring people with disabilities at all grade
levels[B];
ED: [B];
OMB[A]: [Empty];
SSA: [Check];
VA: [Check].
Criteria: Accounts for hiring people with disabilities in all job
series[B];
ED: [B];
OMB[A]: [Empty];
SSA: [Check];
VA: [Check].
Criteria: Identifies training necessary to advance and/or implement
plan[C];
ED: [Check];
OMB[A]: [C];
SSA: [Check];
VA: [Check].
Criteria: Includes plan for providing and assessing effectiveness of
training;
ED: [Empty];
OMB[A]: [Empty];
SSA: [Check];
VA: [Check].
Criteria: Includes plan to increase return-to-work outcomes to make
accommodations available to injured employees who sustain serious
workplace injuries and illnesses[D];
ED: [B];
OMB[A]: [C];
SSA: [Check];
VA: [Check].
Criteria: Includes a plan to coordinate with OWCP to make
accommodations available to injured Federal employees;
ED: [B];
OMB[A]: [C];
SSA: [Check];
VA: [Check].
Criteria: Provides for quarterly monitoring of return-to-work
successes under the POWER Initiative;
ED: [B];
OMB[A]: [C];
SSA: [B];
VA: [Check].
Criteria: Includes plan for identifying injured employees, as defined
under FECA who would benefit from accommodations and reassignment;
ED: [B];
OMB[A]: [C];
SSA: [B];
VA: [Check].
Criteria: Has a process for increasing the use of Schedule A as a
means to increase hiring of people with disabilities/targeted
disabilities;
ED: [B];
OMB[A]: [C];
SSA: [Check];
VA: [Check].
Criteria: Reasonable accommodation policy and procedures and whether
they have been updated;
ED: [Empty];
OMB[A]: [C];
SSA: [Check];
VA: [Check].
Source: GAO analysis of OPM data and OMB’s disability hiring plan.
[A] OMB submitted its own disability hiring plan to OPM, but has not
received feedback on it.
[B] The agency has addressed this issue in a revised plan.
[C] OPM determined that this criterion had been met in the Executive
Office of the President’s disability hiring plan.
[End of table]
Agencies had positive views about the executive order's requirement
that they develop written plans to increase the number of federal
employees with disabilities. In particular, Education, SSA, and VA
said that the executive order provided an opportunity to further
develop the written plans they already had in place for hiring and
retaining employees with disabilities.
Agencies were supportive of the goal of increasing the hiring and
retention of federal employees with disabilities, and reported few
challenges in implementing their plans to achieve this goal. Officials
at all of the agencies we interviewed cited funding constraints as a
potential obstacle to hiring more employees with disabilities. OMB
officials also said that it was a challenge to identify individuals
with the right skills and experience to fill their positions. For
example, officials said that many of the candidates on OPM's list of
Schedule A-certified individuals have entry level skills and not the
more advanced skills and experience that are required for positions at
OMB.[Footnote 29] Agency officials cited no special challenges with
respect to retaining employees with disabilities at their agencies.
Agencies Have Taken Steps to Implement Leading Practices for
Increasing Employment of Individuals with Disabilities:
In October 2010, we reported on eight leading practices that could
help the federal government become a model employer for individuals
with disabilities.[Footnote 30] These practices, which are consistent
with the executive order's goal of increasing the number of
individuals with disabilities in the federal government, have been
implemented to varying degrees by the four agencies we contacted for
this review.
Top leadership commitment: Involvement of top agency leadership is
necessary to overcome the resistance to change that agencies could
face when trying to address attitudinal barriers to hiring individuals
with disabilities. When leaders communicate their commitment
throughout the organization, they send a clear message about the
seriousness and business relevance of diversity management. Leaders at
the agencies we talked with have, to varying degrees, communicated
their commitment to hiring and retaining individuals with disabilities
to their employees. Education has issued annual policy statements to
its employees ensuring equal employment opportunity for all applicants
and employees, including those with targeted disabilities, and
officials told us that they routinely host events that address issues
related to hiring and promoting equal employment opportunity. For
example, in October 2008, Education hosted an event to encourage
hiring individuals with disabilities and distributed a written guide
about using Schedule A hiring authority to facilitate hiring
individuals with targeted or severe disabilities, as well as disabled
veterans. OMB officials said that it is briefing managers on the
requirements of the executive order and that it planned to communicate
the agency's commitment to implementing the executive order to all
staff in May 2012. SSA's Commissioner announced his support for
employing individuals with disabilities and encouraged employees to
continue efforts to hire and promote these individuals in a March 2009
broadcast to all employees. VA said that the Secretary regularly
communicates his commitment to hiring and retaining employees with
disabilities through memorandums to all employees. In a September 2010
memorandum, the Secretary announced the agency's goal of increasing
the percentage of individuals with targeted disabilities that it hires
and employs to 2 percent in fiscal year 2011.[Footnote 31]
Accountability: Accountability is critical to ensuring the success of
an agency's efforts to implement leading practices and improve the
employment of individuals with disabilities. To ensure accountability,
agencies should set goals, determine measures to assess progress
toward goals, evaluate staff and agency success in helping meet goals,
and report results publicly. Education, SSA and VA's disability hiring
plans all include goals that will allow them to measure their progress
toward meeting the goals of the executive order. Prior to the
executive order, Education issued a Disability Employment Program
Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2011-2013 that established goals
related to reasonable accommodations, and recruitment and retention,
and offered strategies for meeting these goals, as well as ways to
track and measure agency progress. At SSA, accountability for results
related to the executive order is included in the performance plan of
the senior-level official responsible for implementing it. VA
specifically holds senior executives accountable for meeting agency
numerical goals by including these goals in their contracts.
Additionally, VA senior executives' contracts include a performance
element for meeting hiring goals for individuals with targeted
disabilities. OMB has not yet developed such goals.
Regular surveying of the workforce on disability issues: Regularly
surveying their workforces allows agencies to have more information
about potential barriers to employment for people with disabilities,
the effectiveness of their reasonable accommodation practices, and the
extent to which employees with disabilities find the work environment
friendly. To collect this information, agencies should survey their
workforces at all stages of their employment, including asking
employees to complete the SF-256 when they are hired, and asking
relevant questions on employee feedback surveys and in exit
interviews. VA officials said that they encourage new employees to
complete the SF-256, and SSA reminds all employees to annually review
their human resource records and update or correct information,
including disability data. In addition, all of the agencies we
contacted survey employees to solicit feedback on a range of topics.
However, only SSA and VA include a question on disability status or
reasonable accommodations on these surveys. In addition, Education and
SSA said that they routinely conduct exit surveys to solicit
information from employees who separate from service about their
reasons for leaving. While VA has an exit survey, officials said it is
not consistently administered to all employees who separate. Education
officials said that they have additional means of obtaining
information about barriers for employees with disabilities. For
example, senior managers hold open forums with staff, and employees
can submit feedback to management through the agency's Intranet.
Education officials also reported that employees with disabilities
have formed their own group to address access to assistive technology,
which has helped Education to obtain improved technology, such as
videophones. OMB officials said that their Diversity Council and
Personnel Advisory Board provide forums for employees to discuss
diversity issues, including those related to disabilities, and share
them with senior leadership.
Better coordination of roles and responsibilities: Often the
responsibilities related to employment of people with disabilities are
dispersed, which can create barriers to hiring if agency staff defer
taking action, thinking that it is someone else's responsibility.
[Footnote 32] Coordination across agencies can encourage agencies with
special expertise in addressing employment obstacles for individuals
with disabilities to share their knowledge with agencies that have not
yet developed this expertise. All of the agencies we interviewed had,
to some extent, coordinated within and across agencies to improve
their recruitment and retention efforts. Specifically, each agency has
a designated section 508 coordinator who assists the agency in
ensuring that, as required by section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act,
employees with disabilities have access to information and data that
are comparable to that provided to those without
disabilities.[Footnote 33] In addition, each agency has a single
office or primary point of contact that is responsible for overseeing
activities related to hiring and retaining employees with disabilities.
Officials at all of the agencies we talked to said their agencies
engaged in one or more interagency efforts to address disability
issues. All of these agencies participate in the CHCO Council, which
facilitates sharing of best practices and challenges related to human
capital issues, including those related to employees with
disabilities. In addition, Education, OMB and SSA officials said that
they work with state vocational rehabilitation agencies, which can
help them identify accommodations that may be needed for new hires
with disabilities. Education and SSA also participate in the Federal
Disability Workforce Consortium, an interagency partnership working to
improve recruitment, hiring, retention, and advancement of individuals
with disabilities by sharing information on disability employment
issues across government. SSA and VA have also participated in the
Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities;
[Footnote 34] VA and Education have also worked together to assist
disabled veterans by providing unpaid work experience at Education,
which may lead to permanent employment.
OPM encourages agencies to coordinate their efforts by sharing
information in its online workspace in the MAX system. For example,
Education, SSA, and VA used MAX to submit and receive OPM's feedback
on their disability hiring plans, and all four agencies have used the
system to access OPM's list of Schedule A-certified individuals from
which federal agencies can hire. However, only Education reported
using the online workspace to share other information that could
facilitate implementation of the executive order. Specifically,
Education officials said that the site is useful for seeing what other
agencies are doing, and that they have also shared their own practices
on the site.
Training for staff at all levels: Agencies can leverage training to
communicate expectations about implementation of policies and
procedures related to improving employment of people with
disabilities, and help disseminate leading practices that can help
improve outcomes. All of the selected agencies provide some training
for staff at all levels on the importance of workforce diversity. They
also require managers and supervisors to take training on hiring
procedures related to individuals with disabilities, and the use of
Schedule A hiring authority. In addition, VA requires employees at all
levels to take training specifically devoted to the legal rights of
individuals with disabilities. At Education, this training is required
for managers and supervisors, while at SSA it is available but
optional for all employees.[Footnote 35]
Career development opportunities: Opportunities for employees with
disabilities to participate in work details, rotational assignments,
and mentoring programs can lead to increased retention and improved
employee satisfaction, and improve employment outcomes by helping
managers identify employees with high potential. All of the agencies
we interviewed provided special work details or rotational assignments
for all employees; one reported having a program exclusively for those
with disabilities. Specifically, Education uses Project SEARCH to
provide internships for students with disabilities to help them become
ready to work through on-the-job training. Education officials
reported that some of these internships have led to permanent
employment at Education.
A flexible work environment: Flexible work schedules, telework, and
other types of reasonable accommodations are valuable tools for the
recruitment and retention of employees, regardless of disability
status. Such arrangements can make it easier for employees with health
impairments to successfully function in the work environment or
facilitate an injured employee's return to work. All of the agencies
we interviewed provide flexible work arrangements, including flexible
work schedules and teleworking. These agencies also make assistive
technologies, such as screen reader software, available for employees
with disabilities, which can facilitate their ability to take
advantage of flexible work arrangements. Education, OMB, and SSA also
offer all employees opportunities for job sharing.
Centralized funding for reasonable accommodations: Having a central
budget at the highest level of the agency can help ensure that
employees with disabilities have access to reasonable accommodations
by removing these expenses from local operational budgets and thus
reducing managers' concerns about their costs. Education, SSA, and VA
use centralized funding accounts to pay for reasonable accommodations
for employees with disabilities. At Education, a centralized fund is
usually used to cover expenses related to providing readers,
interpreters, and personal attendants. However, in cases where these
services are needed on a daily basis, Education may require the
operating unit to hire someone full-time and pay for this from their
unit budget. OMB provides funding from its own budget to pay for
reasonable accommodations, rather than receiving funding from the
Executive Office of the President. OMB officials also told us that
they also have been able to rely on the Department of Defense's
Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program to help provide reasonable
accommodations for some of the employees. This program facilitates
access to assistive technology and services to people with
disabilities, federal managers, supervisors, and information
technology professionals by providing a single point of access for
executive branch agencies.
Conclusions:
As the nation's largest employer, the federal government has the
opportunity to be a model for the employment of people with
disabilities. Consistent with the July 2010 executive order, OPM,
Labor, and other agencies have helped provide the framework for
federal agencies to take proactive steps to improve the hiring and
retention of persons with disabilities.
However, nearly 2 years after the executive order was signed, the
federal government is not on track to achieve the executive order's
goals. Although federal agencies have taken the first step by
submitting action plans to OPM for review, many agency plans do not
meet the criteria identified by OPM as essential to becoming a model
employer of people with disabilities. Though the executive order does
not specifically authorize OPM to require agencies to address
deficiencies, regularly reporting to the president and others on
agency progress in addressing these deficiencies may compel agencies
to address them and better position the federal government to reach
the goals of the executive order.
Further, officials responsible for hiring at federal agencies need to
acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to proactively recruit,
hire, and retain individuals with disabilities. Agency officials we
spoke with said more comprehensive training on the tools available to
them, including the requirements of Schedule A hiring authority, is
needed. While the mandatory training program remains in development,
until it is fully developed and communicated to agencies,
opportunities to better inform relevant agency officials on how to
increase the employment of individuals with disabilities may be missed.
Finally, concerns have been raised by stakeholders, including EEOC,
OPM, and advocates for people with disabilities, about the reliability
of government statistics on the number of individuals with
disabilities in the federal government. Most of the concerns focus on
the likelihood of underreporting given the reliance on voluntary
disclosure, but the extent of the underreporting is unknown.
Unreliable data hinder OPM's ability to measure the population of
federal workers with disabilities and may prevent the federal
government from developing needed policies and procedures that support
efforts to become a model employer of people with disabilities.
Determining the accuracy of SF-256 data, for example, by examining the
extent to which employees voluntarily disclose their disability status
and reasons for nondisclosure, is an essential step for ensuring that
OPM can measure progress towards the executive order's goals.
Recommendations for Executive Action:
To ensure that the federal government is well positioned to become a
model employer of individuals with disabilities, we recommend that the
Director of OPM take the following three actions:
1. Incorporate information about plan deficiencies into its regular
reporting to the president on agencies' progress in implementing their
plans, and inform agencies about this process to better ensure that
the plan deficiencies are addressed.
2. Expedite the development of the mandatory training programs for
hiring managers and human resource personnel on the employment of
individuals with disabilities, as required by the executive order.
3. Assess the extent to which the SF-256 accurately measures progress
toward the executive order's goal and explore options for improving
the accuracy of SF-256 reporting, if needed, including strategies for
encouraging employees to voluntarily disclose their disability status.
Any such strategies must comply with legal standards governing
disability-related inquiries, including ensuring that employee rights
to voluntarily disclose a disability are not infringed upon.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
We provided a draft of this report to Education, EEOC, Labor, OMB,
OPM, SSA, and VA for review and comment. In written comments, OPM
agreed with findings and recommendations identified in the report, and
described actions being implemented in an effort to address them. To
better ensure agencies address deficiencies identified in their
disability hiring plans, OPM has begun notifying agencies that it
plans to report remaining deficiencies to the president and on the OPM
website by August 2012. With regard to the need to expedite the
development of the mandatory training program, OPM, in coordination
with partner agencies has identified training for hiring managers and
supervisors, and Human Resource personnel. Finally, OPM stated that it
is engaged in discussions with the White House and stakeholder
agencies to better define questions on the SF-256 to increase response
rates. OPM also said it plans to work with EEOC and Labor to develop
guidance for agencies to encourage voluntary self-disclosure through
annual re-surveying of the workforce and providing employees with the
option to complete the SF-256 when they request a reasonable
accommodation. OPM expects to complete these efforts by January 2013.
While these actions may help improve the accuracy of the SF-256 data,
we think taking steps to assess the accuracy of the data will enhance
OPM's efforts. For example, understanding the extent to which
employees do not voluntarily self-disclose their disability status and
the reasons why may help target the messages agencies can use to
encourage voluntary self-disclosure. Without such an understanding,
OPM and agencies may miss opportunities to increase the accuracy of
the data collected on the SF-256.
Education, EEOC, OMB, OPM, and SSA provided technical comments, which
have been incorporated into the report as appropriate. Labor and VA
had no comments.
We are sending copies of this report to Education, EEOC, Labor, OMB,
OPM, SSA, and VA and to the appropriate congressional committees and
other interested parties. In addition, the report will be available at
no charge on GAO's website at [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov].
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please
contact Yvonne Jones at (202) 512-2717 or JonesY@gao.gov, or Daniel
Bertoni at (202) 512-7215 or BertoniD@gao.gov. Contact information for
our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found
on the last page of this report. Key contributors to this report are
listed in appendix II.
Sincerely yours,
Signed by:
Yvonne D. Jones, Director:
Strategic Issues:
Signed by:
Daniel Bertoni, Director:
Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues:
[End of section]
Appendix I: Comments from the Office of Personnel Management:
United States Office of Personnel Management:
Diversity and Inclusion:
Washington, DC 20415
May 10, 2012:
Ms. Yvonne Jones:
Director:
Strategic Issues:
U.S. Government Accountability Office:
441 G Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20458:
Dear Ms. Jones:
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has reviewed your draft
audit report on Disability Employment: Further Action Needed to
Oversee Efforts to Meet Federal Government Hiring Goals. We are in
concurrence with the findings and recommendations identified in the
report, and we appreciate the input of the U.S. Government
Accountability Office as we continue to work to enhance our disability
employment program. Please find our responses below.
Response to Recommendations:
Recommendation 1: Incorporate information about plan deficiencies into
its regular reporting to the President on agencies' progress in
implementing their plans, and inform agencies about this process to
better ensure that the plan deficiencies are addressed.
Management Response: OPM concurs with this recommendation and
continues to actively engage with Federal agencies in an effort to
ensure that all deficiencies are addressed. We propose to deliver to
the President, and include on the OPM website, a matrix that will
indicate deficiencies in Disability Action Plans and align with
disability hiring data. We have begun notifying agencies of our intent
to incorporate information about plan deficiencies into its regular
reporting to the President on their progress in implementing their
plans. The target date for completion of the report is August 2012.
Recommendation 2: Expedite the development of the mandatory training
programs for hiring managers and human resource personnel on the
employment of individuals with disabilities as required by the
executive order. For example, OPM could identify which existing
individual training constitutes the overall training requirement for
these personnel.
Management Response: OPM concurs with this recommendation and is
developing mandatory, electronic training for retrieval from Human
Resources (HR) University, as well as other appropriate government
training websites. For hiring managers and supervisors,
OPM, in coordination with partner agencies, has identified two primary
training areas under Executive Order 13548. This training includes.
(1) online training that addresses unconscious bias and helps managers
recognize the value and talent people with disabilities bring to the
workforce (e.g. [hyperlink, http://www.askearn.oru/businesscase/]);
and (2) OPM's bite-size training video, Hiring People with
Disabilities Made Simple, to provide a basic understanding of Schedule
A hiring authority for people with disabilities.
For Human Resource (HR) personnel, OPM and the partner agencies have
identified three primary training areas under Executive Order 13548,
including: (1) using online training that addresses unconscious bias
and helps HR personnel recognize the value and talent people with
disabilities bring to the workforce (e.g., [hyperlink,
http://www.askearn.orgibusinesscase/]); (2) developing an in-depth
training to educate HR personnel about special hiring authorities and
other resources available for finding, recruiting, and hiring people
with disabilities; and; (3) developing an in-depth training to educate
HR personnel about successful practices (to include reasonable
accommodation) for hiring, retaining, and promoting people with
disabilities.
Recommendation 3: Assess the extent to which the SF-256 accurately
measures progress toward the executive order's goal and options for
improving the accuracy of SF-256 reporting, if needed, including
strategies for encouraging employees to voluntarily disclose their
disability status.
Management Response: OPM concurs with this finding. However, please
note that, when individuals are asked to voluntarily self-identify
their disability, under reporting has historically occurred in both
the Federal government and the private sector. OPM is actively engaged
in discussions with the White House, the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the U.S. Office of Management and
Budget, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and Department of Justice to
determine and better define the questions posed in the SF-256 to
increase response rates for new employees, as well as existing
employees. We expect this effort to be completed by January 2013.
In addition, OPM, in coordination with EEOC and DOL, will develop
guidance for agencies to encourage voluntary self-disclosure through
the use of annual re-surveying of the workforce and providing
employees with the option of completing an SF-256 when they request a
reasonable accommodation. The guidance should be completed by January
2013.
Technical comments to the draft are enclosed. Unless otherwise noted,
the suggested revisions are meant to provide technical accuracy.
Please contact Ms. Janet Barnes, Deputy Director, Internal Oversight &
Compliance, on (202) 606-3270, if your office requires additional
information.
Again, we thank you and your office for providing us with the
opportunity to update and clarify information in the draft report.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
Veronica E. Villalobos:
Director:
Office of Diversity and Inclusion:
Enclosure:
[End of section]
Appendix II: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments:
Contacts:
Daniel Bertoni, (202) 512-7215, bertonid@gao.gov. Yvonne D. Jones,
(202) 512-2717, jonesy@gao.gov.
Acknowledgments:
In addition to the contacts named above, Neil Pinney, Assistant
Director; Debra Prescott, Assistant Director; Charlesetta Bailey;
Benjamin Crawford; Catherine Croake; Karin Fangman; David Forgosh;
Robert Gebhart; Michele Grgich; Amy Radovich; Terry Richardson; and
Regina Santucci made key contributions to this report.
[End of section]
Related GAO Products:
Federal Employees' Compensation Act: Preliminary Observations on Fraud-
Prevention Controls. [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-402]. Washington, D.C.: January 25,
2012.
Coast Guard: Continued Improvements Needed to Address Potential
Barriers to Equal Employment Opportunity. [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-135]. Washington, D.C.: December 6,
2011.
Federal Workforce: Practices to Increase the Employment of Individuals
with Disabilities. [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-351T]. Washington, D.C.: February
16, 2011.
Highlights of a Forum: Participant-Identified Leading Practices That
Could Increase the Employment of Individuals with Disabilities in the
Federal Workforce. [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-81SP]. Washington, D.C.: October 5,
2010.
Highlights of a Forum: Actions that Could Increase Work Participation
for Adults with Disabilities. [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-812SP]. Washington, D.C.: July 29,
2010.
Federal Disability Programs: Coordination Could Facilitate Better Data
Collection to Assess the Status of People with Disabilities.
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-872T]. Washington,
D.C.: June 4, 2008.
Federal Disability Programs: More Strategic Coordination Could Help
Overcome Challenges to Needed Transformation. [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-635]. Washington, D.C.: May 20,
2008.
Highlights of a Forum: Modernizing Federal Disability Policy.
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-07-934SP]. Washington,
D.C.: August 3, 2007.
Equal Employment Opportunity: Improved Coordination Needed between
EEOC and OPM in Leading Federal Workplace EEO. [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-06-214]. Washington, D.C.: June 16,
2006.
Results-Oriented Government: Practices That Can Help Enhance and
Sustain Collaboration among Federal Agencies. [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-06-15]. Washington, D.C.: October 21,
2005.
[End of section]
Footnotes:
[1] Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, is
codified at 29 U.S.C. §791.
[2] Exec. Order No. 13548, Increasing Federal Employment of
Individuals with Disabilities, 75 Fed. Reg. 45039 (July 30, 2010).
[3] EEOC has significant responsibilities with regard to overseeing
federal agency equal employment opportunity laws. As such, EEOC plays
a significant role in ensuring that federal agencies identify barriers
to equal employment opportunity and actions to mitigate those barriers
for individuals with disabilities. While EEOC was not given any new
responsibilities in the executive order, it has provided technical
assistance and conducted training for agencies implementing the
executive order.
[4] A person is also considered to have a disability for purposes of
the Rehabilitation Act if the person has a record of such an
impairment or is regarded as having such an impairment. 29 U.S.C. §
705(9)(B), § 705(20)(B), and 42 U.S.C. § 12102(1).
[5] 5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u). Under its authority to except positions
from competitive examination requirements, OPM has established several
categories (or schedules) of excepted service positions. Schedule A
authorizes a number of different excepted service appointments for
positions that are not of a confidential or policy determining
character for which it is impractical to use traditional competitive
hiring procedures. In addition to the specific authority noted above,
Schedule A also includes the appointment of attorneys and chaplains.
[6] 5 U.S.C. § 3112 provides authority for the noncompetitive
appointment and conversion to career employment of disabled veterans
with compensable service-connected disabilities of 30 percent or more.
[7] OPM has recently proposed eliminating the requirement that an
applicant supply a certification of job readiness under this
authority. Under the proposed regulations, the agency determination of
job readiness may be based upon any relevant work, educational, or
other experience. OPM is also proposing a change in terminology in 5
C.F.R. § 213.3102(u), substituting "intellectual disability" for
"mental retardation." 77 Fed. Reg. 6022 (Feb. 7, 2012). We are using
the proposed terminology when referring to this authority.
[8] Exec. Order No. 13163, Increasing the Opportunity for Individuals
with Disabilities To Be Employed in the Federal Government, 65 Fed.
Reg. 46563 (July 26, 2000). According to the 2010 executive order, few
steps were taken toward implementing the 2000 executive order.
[9] Memorandum: The Presidential POWER Initiative: Protecting Our
Workers and Ensuring Reemployment, 75 Fed. Reg. 43029 (July 22, 2010).
[10] 5 U.S.C. §8101, et seq.
[11] Currently, there are two bills in Congress aiming to address FECA
reform, one in the House of Representatives and one in the U.S.
Senate. H.R. 2465, the Federal Workers' Compensation Modernization and
Improvement Act, which passed the full House of Representatives in
November 2011, and S.1789, the 21st Century Postal Service Act of
2011, which passed the full Senate in April 2012.
[12] GAO, Highlights of a Forum: Participant-Identified Leading
Practices that Could Increase the Employment of Individuals with
Disabilities in the Federal Workforce, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-81SP] (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 5,
2010).
[13] The firm adds an average of 30 to 50 individuals to the list each
month, according to OPM. OPM includes the resumes of these individuals
in a database that federal agencies can search using variables such as
an individual's expertise and desired work location.
[14] OPM required and received plans from 50 agencies. Other agencies
were exempt from the requirement to submit a plan because they met
certain criteria, such as having fewer than 200 employees and not
being actively engaged in hiring. Sixteen of these exempted agencies
submitted plans to OPM for review and the results are included in our
analysis. Another 4 agencies submitted plans that were excluded from
our analysis because they are subcomponents of a department or office
that also submitted a plan. The 99 percent estimate excludes
intelligence agencies, the Postal Service, the Tennessee Valley
Authority, and other agencies for which employment data are
unavailable through OPM's online database of statistical information
about the federal civilian workforce.
[15] Labor officials also reviewed agency plans, focusing their review
on the FECA component, and in particular those 14 agencies with a
statistically significant volume of serious injury claims, or
generally those agencies having an average of 50 or more new claims
annually. According to the executive order, agency plans were to be
developed in consultation with and, as appropriate, subject to
approval of OPM and OMB. According to OMB officials, OPM reviewed the
plans and discussed the results of the review with OMB officials.
[16] MAX is a federal online resource used to collect, validate,
analyze, model, and publish information relating to government-wide
management and budgeting activities. It can also be used as an
information sharing and communication portal between government
organizations. OPM used MAX to allow agencies to access candidates to
the Chief Human Capital Officer shared list of people with
disabilities and enable agencies to share information on disability
hiring.
[17] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-81SP].
[18] The Workforce Recruitment Program connects agencies with college
students and recent graduates with disabilities who wish to prove
their abilities in the workplace through summer or permanent jobs.
eFedlink is managed by the National Technical Assistance, Policy, and
Research Center for Employers on Employment of People with
Disabilities at Cornell University funded by Labor's Office of
Disability Employment Policy. According to eFedlink, it is designed to
support federal managers and human resource personnel to advance the
hiring and advancement of persons with disabilities in the federal
government.
[19] HR University, the federal government's one-stop human resources
career development center, is designed to address competency and skill
gaps within the human resources community.
[20] The national training is offered through the Federal Executive
Boards, which are a forum for communication and collaboration among
federal agencies outside of Washington, D.C.
[21] OPM and EEOC have also concluded that agencies are not using
Schedule A to its fullest extent. According to OPM, in fiscal year
2011, 1,093, or less than 1 percent, of all new full-time, permanent
hires and transfers, were appointed under Schedule A.
[22] Standard Form 256, Self-Identification of Disability. The
executive order states that it "shall not be construed to require any
federal employee to disclose disability status involuntarily."
[23] EEOC's Management Directive 715 (MD-715) provides policy guidance
and standards for establishing and maintaining effective affirmative
programs of equal employment opportunity under section 717 of Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended, and effective
affirmative action programs under section 501 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, as amended. See, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16 and 29 U.S.C. §
791. The MD-715 includes a framework for agencies to determine whether
barriers to equal employment opportunities exist and to identify and
develop strategies to eliminate the barriers to participation. Under
MD-715, EEOC requires agencies to report the results of their analyses
annually.
[24] We were not able to independently verify these data.
[25] See EEOC, Improving the Participation Rate of People with
Targeted Disabilities in the Federal Work Force (Washington, D.C.:
January 2008).
[26] Many federal agencies use different automated systems for
employees to update their own personal information, including
disability status. For example, HR Connect and the National Finance
Center's Employee Personal Page are both automated systems used across
the federal government.
[27] As previously noted, disabled veterans with a compensable service-
connected disability of 30 percent or more may be noncompetitively
appointed and converted to a career appointment under 5 U.S.C. § 3112.
[28] According to Labor, the vast majority of workers either incur no
time lost from work or return to work during the first 45 days of
injury. Of the approximately 20,000 new cases each year where workers
lose wages, approximately 90 percent either return to work or the
cases are resolved through other means. In fiscal year 2011, 2,000
FECA cases pertained to workers who did not return to work. Such cases
provide the best opportunity to improve return-to-work outcomes for
federal workers who may have become disabled through their work.
[29] According to OPM officials, when the agreement was developed, the
CHCO Council requested that Bender Consulting identify individuals for
entry-level positions. The list has since expanded to include
individuals with a range of experience.
[30] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-81SP].
[31] As previously noted, targeted disabilities include deafness,
blindness, partial and total paralysis, missing limbs, distorted limbs
or spine, mental disabilities, and convulsive disorders.
[32] See [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-81SP], p. 13.
[33] 29 U.S.C. § 794d.
[34] Managed by Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy and the
Department of Defense's Office of Diversity Management and Equal
Opportunity, this program is a recruitment and referral effort that
connects federal sector employers nationwide with highly motivated
college students and recent graduates with disabilities.
[35] Under the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination
and Retaliation Act of 2002 (No Fear Act), agencies are required,
among other things, to provide their employees with training regarding
the rights and remedies afforded to them under federal
antidiscrimination and whistleblower protection laws. Pub. L. No. 107-
174, 116 Stat. 566 (May 15, 2002).
[End of section]
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